1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid discharge apparatus for discharging a liquid onto a recording medium, a liquid discharge method, and a storage medium storing a program (instruction) used for the liquid discharge apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
An ink jet recording apparatus is known, wherein an ink or inks is/are discharged from a head to form an image on each of recording paper sheets transported continuously in one direction while providing a predetermined spacing distance. A plurality of discharge ports, from which the ink is discharged, are arranged on a lower surface of the head. The discharge ports undergo, in some cases, the occurrence of the clog-up and/or the discharge failure due to, for example, the drying of the ink and the adhesion of any foreign matter. In order to avoid such an inconvenience, the flushing operation, which is the ink discharge that does not contribute to the image formation, is performed in the ink jet recording apparatus, if necessary. Further, the ink-jet recording apparatus is provided with a platen which receives the back surface of the recording paper to be transported, while being opposed to the lower surface of the head. The platen is provided with a plurality of slender ribs as auxiliary support portions for receiving the back surface of the recording paper. The longitudinal direction of the rib is substantially parallel to the transport direction of the recording paper, and the respective ribs have substantially the same height. Accordingly, the flatness is secured for the recording paper during the transport. In this context, if the rib is opposed to the discharge port formed on the lower surface of the head, it is feared that the back surface of the recording paper to be transported may be dirtied by the ink adhered to the apex of the rib during the flushing operation. Accordingly, in the case of the ink jet recording apparatus, the rib is missing or deleted in the area on the platen opposed to each of the discharge ports.